Monday, November 10, 2008

thank you

Today is Veterans Day, a day to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Did you know that there are over 19 million war veterans in the United States? (according to the Department of Veteran Affairs). Picture 380 football stadiums full of people and you've got the picture. That's a lot of veterans.

These veterans come from both World Wars, as well as the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf and our current war. These are the men and women we celebrate today. These are the people we need to honor and thank.

How can we do that? I can think of two ways. Fly an American flag today as it shows respect for our veterans and country, and personally thank a veteran (or two or three).

My grandfather served in the Korean Conflict and my father in the Vietnam War, both in the Air Force. My grandfather is deceased, but my father is very much alive. Thank you dad for your service to this country and for the personal sacrifices you made. I'm sure the relatives of those who were wounded and you flew out of harm's way to medical facilities would also thank you, if they could.

It is a blessing to have men and women who are willing to fight for the freedoms I, and other citizens, have here in America.

Thank you Diana for your posting and for remembering us vets. You’ve stirred up a little more patriotism in me this day than I usually have every day. My flag is out; set to shimmer in the breeze and catch the rays of the flood light tonight as it gets dark. If I indeed see any vets this day, you can be sure I will thank them if not embrace them.

And thank you for remembering grandpa and me. His day is done, and I feel mine is fading into the sunset, as it should. I could not even stand yesterday at church when they asked the veterans to stand and be recognized. I’ve done that too many times, not that it doesn’t have meaning or that I’m not appreciative, but there are a few veterans that preceded me and many who followed me that are far more worthy of the honor. I served during a time when the draft was in full force. Most of those who were in the military were not there voluntarily. Even I did not volunteer to go to war (Vietnam), but I did what was expected of me and went when the orders came. The Lord God saw me through that experience by placing me in a combat unit where I could save lives, not take them. Our Rescue motto was, “That others may live.” I always took that to heart as we did save and allow so many to continue to live their lives when they might have otherwise perished. But I also considered it an honor to think that I might have had a small part in allowing my America to continue to live with it’s freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But my era was just a precursor to the military man or woman of today. These kids (for the most part) all volunteered to join a military service wherein they could have opted out of such support to defend their America. They are the true veterans that need to be honored, particularly the ones who come back maimed, twisted, or psychologically affected. They’ve paid the price.

Your You Tube video is so poignant and can’t help but bring tears to all of us who realize what those troops have been through. Thanks for the remembrance. Love you.

Amen, Diana. We honor Grandpa today, and we honor you, Dad, in a most special way because, whether you volunteered or not, you rose to the occasion of duty, out of love of our country and obedience to Almighty God, and you fought for our freedom--for which we are eternally thankful.

Your children are most proud of you, Dad, and forever grateful to have you here today. You are a hero, Dad. God bless you today.

Well said, Diana. Please thank you dad for his beautiful, heartfelt comment and for his years of service. All of our veterans have my deepest gratitude, no matter how they were called to duty. They bravely met the call and it is because of them that we live in the greatest country in the world.

Do you know that our kids didn't even get Veteran's Day off. That kind of bothered me. I think that's disrespectful of the school system...although I am sure they had their reasons. We have many veterans in our family from WWII on in every single war after. And we still have family members serving today. It makes me proud!!

To Diana's dad....your comment brought me to tears. The fact that you DIDN'T vounteer but went and did what was asked of you to the best of your ability is more than admirable. Thank you! You, along with all our veterans, are a TRUE AMERICAN HERO.